The Cubs have designated lefty Brett Anderson for assignment after activating him from the 60-day DL, per a club announcement (via Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago, on Twitter).
Over the winter, the Cubs added the 29-year-old on a $3.5MM deal, wagering that he might return to something like the form he showed in 2015, when he gave the Dodgers 180 1/3 innings of 3.69 ERA pitching. Though Anderson had missed much of the 2016 campaign after back surgery, he was able to return to the mound late in the year.
But Anderson has again been limited by back issues, and the Cubs have received little for their investment. He has thrown only 22 frames on the year, coughing up twenty earned runs on 34 hits while managing only a 16:12 K/BB ratio. Anderson hadn’t generated much more promising results through his rehab stint at Double-A, though he was at least able to make it through 27 1/3 innings.
While he might’ve commanded another shot at the majors with other organizations, the Cubs swung a major deal to get Jose Quintana while Anderson was down. With the rotation full and Mike Montgomery functioning as a long man in the pen, there just wasn’t much room for Anderson at this point.
As a Dodger fan i know the horrors of Brett Anderson all too well. He wont be fooling anyone into lots of money anymore
How’d he fool anyone into giving him that deal?? It wasn’t his fault LA gave him $$$. If anything, blame The Dodgers for doing what they seemingly always do-Throwing $$$ at a pitcher not worth half the amount they’re getting
What DF711 was referencing was a stretch a couple of years ago which made the FO think he was finally healthy and pitching well. I happen to think our FO has a bunch of smart guys, so if he fooled them AND the Cubs out of 3.5M… then I don’t see his statement as outlandish as you do.
It’s only fooling them if he knew he wasn’t healthy and hid it. If he thought he was healthy, then he did nothing wrong. If I were him, I’d just take my millions and retire while on the right side of 30.
Can’t blame the Dodgers for offering the qualifying offer. Anderson wasn’t bad in 2015. But how the Cubs offered this years contract after a disastrous 2016 season is beyond me.
Blame his agent for lying as he was 100
% healthy
One of those negative for Theo and his Band
It was kinda like jim Hendry giving a guy like Milton Bradley a multi year deal when he never spend more than a season and a half with one team. It was something like 10 teams in 11 years.
The Cubs guaranteed him 3.5 million with incentives. His next deal will be a minor league deal. Anderson also claimed in 2015 he declined a bigger offer to accept the QO. The gamble on himself failed miserably
Bandwagon Cubs fan is upset another team leads the NL.
Lol
Worthless is he a Boris client ?
Anderson injures hand after slamming phone on Theo. Back on 60 day DL.
Hahahahahaha!!
+1
And this is why the Cubs are no good.
The Cubs aren’t good because they took a flier on Brett Anderson?
As a Cubs fan, I’m pretty sure they aren’t good because they cant score once they get on base. That, and Joe Maddon can leave any day now.
Cubs fans sick of Maddon are hilarious. You’re embarrassing the rest of the fan base, quit posting.
Very much this
Completely agree, but I’m sure this portion of the fan base watches 2-4 games a season, so take their opinions with a grain of salt.
Agree wholeheartedly. Though the Cubs may draw 3 million fans a year, the VAST majority are simply the casual “Cubs are cool” fans, or the out-of-towners catching a game at historic Wrigley
I’m guessing most (all?) that frequent this site watch many more than 2-4 games a year.
And to clarify, I think he’s a good players manager but I don’t like his style of managing on the field.
I feel there is a lot of hostility and pent up aggression on this site for some reason…
For what it’s worth, I’m not a “Cubs Are Cool” fan and it’s insulting to insinuate that I am.
In any case, my original post was intended to dispute JAF and his ridiculous assertion that the Cubs are bad because they took a flier on Brett Anderson. If anything that is more outlandish than anything I said.
chitown311 is a noted White Sox fan and trolls Cubs’ comment sections to divert from his own utter insecurity.
They’re the defending world champs and are in a good spot to become just the second defending world champs this decade to even reach the playoffs the following year….but hey – they’re no good. Got it.
My comment was a little tongue in cheek, because it is hard for me to believe that anybody who watches Cubs games regularly would think Maddon should be released less than one year after helping to deliver something the North Side of the city has not seen in 108 years. I do understand people’s frustration with the leadoff position, but for every “bad” decision Joe makes, there are 5 good ones.
Who was the first?
Understood. And again, wasn’t literally saying he needed to go, it was more hyperbole for his style needs to adjust to the team he currently has. I’m sure that can be said for many managers, it’s just I watch mostly Cubs games so don’t have a solid frame of reference for other managers.
I think he get stuck on stupid sometime but not as good as Rentalia .He’s are hero in Chi north
I’ll say this, I like Maddon and think he’s a good manager overall, but I now am somewhat suspect of him after the absolutely ridiculous decisions he made in game 7 of the World Series with Hendricks and Lester.
Can you please give me the link that blasts Francona’s management of game seven? Let’s see ran out of players, ran Miller into the ground….gave up homer to David Ross, despite Rajai homer, had him in CF and allowed Bryant to score on 190 foot flyout, misplayed Contreras fly ball into an RBI double and misplayed Bryant fly in 10th allowing Almora to tag up. He lost and doesn’t get criticized. Joke.
Not sure why you’re so upset about criticism of Maddon – there are a number of people putting forward decent arguments outlining his flaws. Not just Cubs fans.
Newsflash – not everyone has to agree with you. Don’t be a tool about it.
3.5 mill isn’t really a flier though. They gave him way too much money and it was stupid
Well maybe to the hand wringing Cards it was too much.
Maddon is one of the greatest managers of all time, if you don’t want him after one decent half, then almost any other team in baseball will gladly take him off your hands
Hold on a minute, Maddon is an effective and has proven to be a good manager in getting the most out of what he has for a team, but winning 1 World Series doesn’t elevate him to “one of the greatest managers of all time” territory.
Whether he qualifies in that elite club is yet to be seen once his managerial days are over and we can adequately measure his effectiveness.
It’s much harder to win nowadays though. I don’t think measuring by World Series titles is very fair.
Winning a World Series isn’t a requirement to be on the list. Bad managers get lucky (Ned Yost). Some get lucky twice (Cito Gaston.) And some are merely good managers who became ‘great’ because they found themselves in the right place at the right time (Torre was mediocre in St. Louis; Francona was mediocre in Philadelphia; Bochy was mediocre in San Diego.)
Despite having invented the game, he is NOT one of the greatest managers of all time.
With my comment I meant more like an elite all time manager, not like top 5 all time but imo certain hall of fame level. What he did with the Cubs last year certainly adds to his resume but I was refering no
*referring more to his Rays days when he turned a low budget team into a perennial winner and invented things like the shift. Right now he’s the Cubs manager but his historical identity still belongs with Tampa bay, which is where I think he made his mark
Look up the Ted Williams shift. It’s about 70 years old. Thank you Lou Boudreau.
Oh my god you want to get rid of the nest manager the Cubs have had in your lifetime? You are a moron
Hahahahahaha! We got a baseball genius right here.
Signs w Padres next year from 1.75 mil and Balsleys next reclamation project turns him into a stud and we flip him for more…prospects
Next year?
Psshh yeah right. Preller is probably on the phone right now trying to acquire him. A struggling lefty that needs some fine tuning to re-establish his career? Hmm where have we seen that before?
Oh yeah.
Brad Hand, Clayton Richard, Travis Wood, Ryan Buchter, Drew Pomeranz, Dillon Overton, Buddy Baumann.
Preller loves those lefties that need work. Remember this post in a few days.
well said, that is what I was implying. get him this year and resign him next
Yeah he does like ex Cubs
Brett Anderson needs to be the gold standard for glass armed pitchers. Rich Harden can rest easy now, Anderson has been on the DL far more times and for a larger % of his career than Harden.
He’s still better in a playoff race than Caleb Smith (who I like long-term) or Edwin Jackson.
He’ll get released in a few days, unless Theo Epstein is better at his job than I already think he is.
Hard to believe but Brett Anderson was just as good as Kershaw when they were both high school amateurs in Dallas
He’s from Oklahoma.
Yeah, very hard to believe! Lol
I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Blue Jays take a flier on him if they trade Liriano and Estrada.
I wouldn’t hate this idea. Gets us closer to a protected first rounder and can hopefully eat innings
We’ve got first overall pretty much locked up! Go Phillies!
Anderson is talented just derailed by injuries. It’s unfortunate. Hopefully, somebody gives him an opportunity we all deserved…
He’ll be back in LA by next week. Book it.
I was about to post the same.
Signing Brett Anderson with his injury history was the biggest mistake by the Cubs front office this past offseason. They should have been more pro-active in seeking a controllable, durable and younger quality starting pitcher such as Jose Quintana who they recently acquired from the cross-town White Sox.
“Q” was more than available this past offseason and I’m pretty sure GM Rick Hahn would have been thrilled to receive the same package that featured top prospects Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease that he wound up getting from the Cubs 10 days ago.
2 A-ball prospects and 2 A-Ball fillers was a low price for Q. I doubt that would have been accepted then, and obviously, it wasn’t.
2 A-ball prospects who also happen to be on every top-100 list with many having Eloy Jimenez in their top-10.
Btw-Rick Hahn has already gone on record stating that the Cubs offer for “Q” was the best he received from any club, be it this past offseason or as the trade deadline approached. If my comment was in error than Hahn is also a liar, which I suspect is not the case.
Astros need another lefty in the bullpen. Maybe they’ll give him a shot.
Someone will pick him up
Cubs need to trade for a bat such as Bruce and trade Zobrist for a right handed specialist
Zobrist has the same “trade value” problem Justin Verlander does.
Contracts matter.
Zobrist can’t be traded until the end of next year – but like all no trade clauses something could be worked out. Bigger problem is he is not playing well so probably best for the cubs to hold him until he finds his swing again.
Everyone gives Theo so much credit but they forget how many horrible deals he has made over years- Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez, LaMahieu for Ian Stewart (lol), Heyward and Anderson is just one of latest. He got killed on the Starlin Castro trade too which everyone seems to forget about. Is Theo very good yes but IMO he’s grossly overrated
The Crawford and Gonzalez deals were the owners mandate. Anderson’s was only $3.5 million for one year, not some crippling albatross. No GM will ever be perfect. The man has three rings as head of baseball operations (and counting). You don’t judge a GM based off the blunders they make. You judge them based on if they field the best organization that satisfies whatever predicament that franchise is in (payroll size, if it’s a rebuild, if they’re trying to contend, etc.) Theo has done a marvelous job at doing something many people never do, win multiple championships.
I said Theo is very good but some people think he is a God of some sort. He basically inherited first ring in Boston. People also forget that when he left Boston they were left in very very bad shape. It just amazes me how he gets a free pass on so many bad deals. He also had 2nd highest payroll when he won both rings in Boston. I know money doesn’t buy championship but it sure gives you a better chance.
John Henry and Larry Luccino signed Carl Crawford,Theo was very vocal against it
Everyone gives Theo credit as we all see, but you, that he is a future hall of fame executive.
Orioles should pick him up if the cubs will cover half the remaining salary. We need all the arms we can get to get through the rest of the season. Maybe he’ll turn it around and fill one of our 3 rotation holes for a month before he gets injured.
Well, it was under Theo’s Cubs that they finally won a World Series… Let’s not forget about that, please…
Not to mention two World Series victory’s in Boston
As a Red Sox fan I would give my right nut to have Theo back….trader Dave has not done a great job in Boston
Either Cubs, dodgers, or astros will be getting verlander. Tigers eat half the money
your positive?
he has a source – trade is final they just haven’t announced it yet. Watch how quick he posts “I called it” and tries to act like one who has inside info. Its easy – watch -Reed to the cubs, dodgers,sox,yankees,twins,royals or rockies. Now when trade goes thru I’m a genius.. if not in a week noone will remember anyways
haha the amount of just pure experts who can see the future in these comment sections is hysterical…this trader ryan guy is pure gold…i wish i knew as much
You’re all clowns and youre making me laugh
haha…i bet theres a trade before the trade deadline…called it
Look Maddon is a great players manager no doubt. But his in game decisions are iffy. He single handily almost blew the World Series the way he mismanaged the bullpen. And let’s not forget pulling Hendricks way to early. I sat right with the Cubs organization for that game and make no doubt about Theo and Jed weren’t overly happy while it was happening
Win is a win
Yes, Maddon was so afraid of becoming Grady Little that he went the extreme opposite. If the Cubs lose Game 7, it would have been on Joe. But they won and he gets to defend his decisions until he dies.
However, I do think his game and lineup decisions are fine. Also, Maddon’s record in the 2nd half is stellar as most of his teams have improved over their first half records. He keeps his players loose and well rested. That bodes well for the Cubs and it has shown in the early going after the break.
For the most part, Joe Maddon’s lineup’s blow this season. Having Anthony Rizzo hitting in the #3 spot for most of the year is the only sound batting order decision Maddon has made in 2017.
Maddon not only screwed up the leadoff spot in the first half, he also helped make a mess of slugger Kyle Schwarber in the process. He continues to bat prototypical cleanup hitter Kris Bryant in the #2 spot and his RBI’s have suffered as a result, especially so in the National League with the pitcher hitting 2 or 3 spots ahead of him.
While Bryant was struggling to produce RBI’s in the #2 role Maddon inexplicably had one of MLB’s most prototypical #2 hitters in Ben Zobrist batting cleanup for most of the first half. How Maddon doesn’t realize Zobrist’s value hitting in the 2 spot is mind boggling considering he had the versatile switch-hitter with him in Tampa Bay for the first 9 years of his excellent career.
The rest of Maddon’s batting order can also be questioned. Schwarber should have begun the season hitting in the #5 spot protecting Bryant. He had free-swinging Javier Baez hitting in front of the pitcher’s spot more often than not, usually in the #7 slot with Maddon once again deciding to bat his SP’s #8 like he had done back in 2015. I can understand some lineup flexibility with so many gifted young hitters on the Cubs roster but sometimes less is better than more. Maddon consistently changes his batting orders when defined roles might prove more useful.
Maddon also continued to screw with Kyle Hendricks to begin the 2017 season even after he showed little confidence in the 2016 N.L. ERA leader by pulling him too early in game #7 of the World Series. Maddon, the “ultimate” players manager, decided that it would somehow be a good thing to have Hendricks as his #5 starter to begin the year, slotting him behind both John Lackey and Brett Anderson in the rotation. 🙁
Thank god.
I remember specifically this signing and how cub fans saying how great Theo was with this signing.
From which team will he leech valuable resources from next? He’s basically worlds luckiest baseball fan, he gets dugout seats to every game(home and away), free official jerseys and gear, gets to interact with the players, and gets paid to do all of this. Worlds luckiest baseball fan…
Brett Anderson could help the Padres I think he got a LITTLE in the tank yet for one more year